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Hingis makes winning return

Martina Hingis made a successful return to competitive tennis Monday after a three-year absence, beating Maria Vento-Kabchi of Venezuela, 6-2, 6-1, at the Australian women's hard-court championships.

The 25-year-old Hingis, winner of five Grand Slam singles titles, made a nervous start when both players exchanged service breaks. But Hingis, a Swiss who is a former world No. 1, showed no signs of the extended layoff she took as a result of chronic foot injuries, outplaying her opponent for the rest of the match.

Hingis also plans to play in next week's Sydney International on a wild card and the Australian Open at Melbourne beginning Jan. 16, a tournament she has won three times.

Hingis will take on seventh-seeded Klara Koukalova of the Czech Republic in the second round here.

"I was a little nervous," Hingis told the sellout crowd at Royal Pines Stadium after the match. "I'd like to thank my family and friends for supporting me."

Hingis later said she played well, when asked to rate her game on a 10-point scale.

"Under the circumstances in the heat and not having played for three years, I'd say an 8, other times even better," Hingis said. "I don't know what else I should have done today better than what I did. The score says it all."

Asked whether she was concerned during the match after her nervous start, Hingis said: "Not really.

"I knew I could play better than that. It was just a matter of time and getting the first point and the first game. After that I started breathing."

Hingis's serve has improved and her ground strokes appear considerably harder than when she retired at the age of 22 in 2002. She had one ace Monday.

"Just wait until the next matches; I'll be even better," Hingis said. "You have to have a high percentage of first serves; otherwise these girls today are going to kill you. They're very aggressive and they attack right away."

Hingis said the victory had given her confidence a lift.

"It's big," she said. "I get another opportunity to play another match and that feels great already. All these expectations I've put on myself, it's gone right now for this moment."

Hingis, who made a one-time appearance at a tournament in Thailand 11 months ago, announced she was returning to the circuit on Nov. 29, saying she was never happy in retirement.

Hingis needs wildcard invitations to compete because she does not have a tour ranking

At 16 years and six months, Hingis was the youngest player to reach No. 1 in the world rankings. She won almost $20 million in an eight-year career before ankle and foot problems forced her to retire. Only Steffi Graf, Martina Navratilova and Lindsay Davenport have earned more prize money in the women's game.

At the tournament here, Hingis entered the doubles competition with Tatiana Golovin of France as her partner.

Golovin, 17, who was born in Russia, was approached Friday by Hingis, who asked whether she wanted to play doubles with her.

"She said, 'Do you want to play?' and I said 'Of course,"' Golovin said. "Who doesn't want to play with Martina? I just feel very lucky. We're all very happy to have her back."

Besides her five Grand Slam singles titles, Hingis is one of the most successful doubles players as well, claiming nine Grand Slam titles, including four Australian Opens.

She is one of only four women to win all four doubles majors in one year. That happened in 1998.